Folkteatern Goteborg installs TiMax Tracker and SoundHub

As part of a major audio overhaul, Sweden’s Folkteatern Goteborg has incorporated a TiMax SoundHub-S32 audio showcontrol processor for its main auditorium, controlled by a TiMax Tracker (TT) performer tracking system.

TiMax processing and control was specified by Alf Berntsen, head of Swedish acoustic consultants Artifon, who undertook the audio design for the new space. A long-time advocate of delay-based source-oriented vocal reinforcement, Berntsen had previously included two TiMax systems in his designs for Norway’s Oslo Opera House.

Allan Antilla, head sound engineer at the theatre, oversaw the project, which was designed with the dual objectives of enhancing vocal intelligibility by transparent audio localisation of the actors’ voices, in addition to the sound effects editing, playback and automated panning offered by the TiMax SoundHub’s S-Version software.

The TiMax SoundHub also provided multiple zone balancing and EQ presets for the variety of speaker enclosures, which get re-deployed in variable setups to accommodate the different stage and seating configurations that can be created in the auditorium.

Four TiMax Tracker TT Sensors were positioned in the corners of the room to map the space in three dimensions, and received pulses of UWB 6-8GHz signal from 16 TT Tags worn by the actors. The TiMax Tracker location server then applied vector (AOA) and time (TDOA) analysis to track the actors in real-time and continuously adjust the delay settings in TiMax SoundHub to maintain seamless audio localisation for their individual radio mic feeds.